Not As It Seems
by Xekon
Summary: Everything seems normal in the Akatsuki base, but after a mission near the Hidden Leaf Village and the death of several Waterfall shinobi, not everyone or everything is what it seems. chapter 2 updated
1. The Story Begins

A sallow moon hung listlessly in the opaque sky, unaccompanied by stars or city lights. A scarlet pool coated the ground at the edge of a clearing behind two cloaked figures, who strolled calmly away from it. They wore raven cloaks with clouds the color of blood emblazon across them.

The forest was silent as the grave. The figures continued on, an eerie quietness about them. After nearly thirty miles had passed them by, the pair reached their destination.

The cave before them rose up virtually from nowhere, encircled by a vast still pond. Its surface remained undisturbed as the pair crossed its glassy surface. The shorter one raised a purple nailed hand, and the seal on the rock before them began emitting a faint blue glow. As boulder rose, a gaping cave mouth was revealed, stalactites hanging from the ceiling like teeth. No sound greeted them from within the dark cave. A cloud concealed the moon, plunging the earth into an inky blackness. To one, it seemed like a coincidence, but to the other, the loss of light appeared as an omen of events to come.

They removed their woven hats in unison, the bells tied to them emitting a faint jingling noise. The two men looked at each other, nodded, and stepped into the darkness that seemed to drag them in together.

Far away, warm sunlight filtered through a leafy overhang. Lush green grass cushioned the ground beside Shiro Pond, intertwining with reed flowers of exotic colors. Fluorescent colored butterflies fluttered about, careless and free. A girl who could be no older than twenty slumbered in a patch of shade beneath the overhang, a black Waterfall Village headband tied expertly around her neck.

"Mizuumi!" a male's voice called," Mizuumi, wake up! You're gonna be late!"

"Huh?" the girl, Mizuumi, replied groggily. She opened her eyes, blinking away spots formed by the harsh sunlight.

"Your mission to the Leaf Village. Your team leaves in ten minutes!"

"Thanks for waking me up so late, Toshiro," Mizuumi grumbled at the chuunin. She herself was a jonin, and a recent one at that. The head ninja had only promoted her and her brother, Arashi, because they'd lost two jonin on a mission to the same country. Mizuumi had wanted to be in the medical corps, but her late mother had forbidden it.

After the quickest packing job in her life, Mizuumi arrived at the village gate with seconds to spare.

"You're late," a man with a black bandana on his head and an eye patch over his right eye stated sternly.

"Sorry," Mizuumi replied shamefully. Another jonin scoffed.

"Why'd they let a chuunin come on a mission like this?" the way she said the word _chuunin _made it sound like it was a bad thing.

"Enough, Relena!" the man with the eye patch ordered.

"Whatever you say, Kaiba," Relena replied sweetly, flipping her long black bangs out of her face. She had snakelike blue eyes, with an attitude to match.

"Enough bickering," a woman in her mid thirties with long snowy white hair and silvery blue eyes stepped forward and between the two arguing jonin," it's time to go. Kaiba, brief Mizuumi along the way."

"Yes, Lady Yuki," the two replied respectfully, following their commander as she headed for the pond that protected the village's secret entrance. The squad dove gracefully through its surface as they had for done for years .Soon, they were on dry land again and embarked on their journey to the Hidden Leaf Village.

"I assume your mission was a success?" a shadowy figure asked the two approaching men.

"Yes," the short one with long black hair tied back in a low ponytail and equally dark eyes replied calmly. He wore a Konoha headband on his forehead, a wide line slashed through the center, possibly from a kunai.

"Excellent. Itachi, Kisame, fill out the reports I have left in your rooms."

An hour later, Itachi finally completed his extensive twelve page mission report. He detested Pein's mission reports, which it was rumored he never even read. Itachi felt it was foolish to need to write two pages of an in depth injury summary when he had none. Even as an Anbu, he'd never been required to write such nonsense. As Itachi left his room, Kisame finished his report as well. Itachi noticed Kisame's stack of paperwork was slightly taller than his.

"Tryin' for that bonus ten percent on my pay," Kisame explained, "Gotta seem like I take this seriously, right, Itachi san?"

"You're an imbecile," Itachi stated flatly. Kisame smirked his shark toothed grin,

"What makes you say that?"

"Kisame, we don't get paid."

"Hence the ten percent raise."

"Ten percent of zero is still zero, if you doubt me, take it up with Kakuzu."

"Heh, have to try, don't I?" they continued on in silence. Pein's office was at the far end of a concealed hallway at the back of the cave. A ledge that already held other reports sat to the left of the door. On this ledge, Itachi and Kisame placed their mission reports. Unfortunately, Pein chose that precise moment to come storming out of his office.

"Where's that useless slacker, Deidara?" he yelled. He strode forward briskly; knocking every single mission report on the ground, save for Itachi's. Kisame let loose a stream of curses while he collected his mission report, leaving the other three strewn across the floor. Pein could be heard down the long hallway yelling insults and Deidara's name. Itachi casually walked away, leaving his partner to finish ranting to empty air.

Some time later, when Itachi was falling asleep for the night, he heard a commotion outside his door.

"But is was filled out, hmm!" a male voice protested.

"You skipped half the information," responded Pein

"Yeah, the stupid stuff!"

"Deidara, every detail is important."

"Then get Sasori's report, hmm!"  
>"Your perspective would still be missing, now finish it." Itachi heard footsteps retreat down the hall and sighed inwardly. Deidara was hopelessly immature, reminiscent of his brother, Sasuke, yet an eternity less tolerable. Just when he was almost asleep, his door creaked open.<p>

"Hey, Itachi, you awake?" Deidara's irritating voice shattered the silence.

"No," was Itachi's emotionless response

"Can you finish my mission report for me?"

"Do it yourself,"

"But he added six extra pages!"

"And this concerns me how?"

"Fine!" Deidara slammed the door behind him. Itachi sighed and once again attempted to fall asleep. He heard Deidara complaining to someone down the hall from his room. The sound of a scythe colliding with the cave wall was enough to tell him Hidan was in a foul mood. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

And was awakened by a pillow to the face.

"Itachi, will you help me now?"

"Ugh, Sasuke, get lost, we had this conversation already." Itachi muttered in his sleep.

"Sasuke? Pft, dream on!" Itachi's eyes snapped open to the sight of Deidara looming over him.

"Hey, you're awake! About that mission report-"a shuriken taking a chunk out of his face and bangs silenced the blonde haired man.

"Get out!" Itachi snapped. Deidara left without another word. Itachi let out an angry sigh, locked his door, put a chair in front of it, and then fell back asleep.


	2. Rising Storm

The nightmares were relentless. Gruesome images flashed behind his eyelids. Blood and fire lacerated his once peaceful realm of sleep.

Itachi awoke with a start. He'd had the same dream for a week now, each night adding on to the terror. Each dream, however, shared on key element. That girl was always present.

"Itachi~San," Kisame's voice resounded through his room," you ready to go?"

"Almost," he responded monotonously. He changed out of his sweat drenched shirt pulled on a new cloak, and joined Kisame in the cave's entrance area. Their mission was to intercept yet another squad of Waterfall shinobi, interrogate them, and then dispose of them. Just like the last mission, Itachi thought. Itachi skipped breakfast for the millionth time, and for the millionth time, Kisame gave him grief about doing such.

"Come now, Itachi, we have time for you to eat something,"

"Not hungry,"

"Itachi, there's no rush if that's what's concerning you."

"No, now focus at the task at hand."

"As you wish."

. . . . . . . .

"Two more miles until we stop for the night," Yuki stated on the third day of travel. Mizuumi's legs quivered in relief once they landed in a serene clearing. Relena scoffed scornfully.

"Pathetic," she strode past Mizuumi, making sure she brushed arms with her aggressively as she did so. Thunder exploded overhead and lightning flashed forebodingly. Mizuumi shivered a strange feeling about her. Last time she'd felt this way, her mother had died. She cast her gaze around the other members of her squad. A feeling like black ice slammed itself down into the pit of her stomach. Dizziness overtook her and she was dragged down into a pit of blackness.

. . . . . . .

Itachi heard the screams first. Faintly, he wondered if he was dreaming again, but no, the forest was too real. Besides, Kisame was with him, and Kisame's bothersome presence never invaded his dreams. Well, not without several spears in him anyway.

"Hear that?" Kisame inquired

"Yeah," the pair slowed to a stop at the edge of a clearing. They crouched low, peering through the tangled branches of the bushes they hid behind. A squad of four Waterfall shinobi stood around in a cluster, one, a kunoichi, appeared to be unconscious.

"There's our target," Kisame whispered. Itachi nodded in response. Kisame rose quietly to his feet and slowly crept forward. Itachi began to follow, but stopped dead when his eyes focused in on the unconscious kunoichi's face.

The kunoichi had bluish blonde hair that tumbled in thick waves a few inches past her shoulders. Blue mist kanji shaped tattoos dotted the space beneath her eyes, one under each eye. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with arm guards and black kapris with multiple pockets and bandages encircling her left leg from her ankle to the edge of her pants. She also had on blue sandals.

'She looks just like her mother,' Itachi thought,' wait, how do I know that?'

'Because I told you,' a voice within his mind whispered.

'Who are you?' Itachi asked. The voice seemed to smirk,

'Someone who knows you better than you know yourself,'

'Tell me your name!' Itachi demanded.

'How impatient we are! No, I shan't ruin the suspense yet. Until next time, my friend,'

"Itachi!" Kisame hissed," What're you waiting for?"

"Nothing," Kisame followed Itachi's eyes to where he was staring. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, turning out more like a smirk.

"Yeah, she's kind of cute," he stated," you wanting to take her back or something?"

"No," Itachi's voice was hard as ice.

"Why not? She's your age. Who knows, maybe she'd make a good-"

"Kisame, don't make me kill you."

"Defensive, Itachi?" Itachi's response was a fiery Sharingan glare.

"Let's go."

. . . . . . .

Mizuumi dreamed of darkness. A black sky with blood red clouds descending on her squad.


	3. Darkness

"Take her by the fire," Yuki sounded exasperated. Not only was Mizuumi out cold, but this new development was bound to put them behind schedule. The new Hokage didn't appreciate off schedule appointments.

"Lady Yuki!" Relena called

"Yes, Relena?"

"If she doesn't recover soon, do we leave her?"

"We may have to," Yuki sighed. As much as the idea repulsed her, she couldn't let anything interfere with the mission. This time, Waterfall had to succeed.

Itachi and Kisame migrated to a clearing a little farther away for the night, aware their target wasn't going anywhere.

"Hey, Itachi?" Kisame asked in a perfectly level voice, all humor from earlier gone.

"Yes, Kisame?"

"What made you space out earlier? Usually you-"

"It's none of your concern." Itachi stood silently and walked away. He let himself wander and was soon at the edge of the clearing. The whole squad was asleep with the girl from earlier dangerously close to the fire.

'Taken and interest have we?' The voice asked

'No, I was merely testing a theory.'

'You were correct. In a sense.'

'What do you mean?'

'You noticed that when you were around the girl, I began to speak to you. It is true I have only spoken to you when she is near, but she isn't the reason I speak.'

'Then what is the reason?'

'I was sleep, now I'm not.'

'What made you wake up?'

'Why ask so many questions, you know I won't answer you.'

'Just answer me." Anger was rising up in Itachi's chest, and had he not been so disciplined he would have screamed.

'They become less and less patient by the day,' the voice mused

'You can't hide forever,'

'Hiding? I'm adding suspense to your repetitive life!' Itachi felt his world spinning. He hit the ground, and then everything went black.

Suddenly, Itachi's vision returned and he was flying! At least, he felt that he was. When Itachi looked down, he saw himself still lying on the ground behind the bushes. Was he dead? One of the Waterfall shinobi, a kunoichi with night black hair and snakelike sapphire eyes, raked her gaze across him. He prepared to flee, but then the realization hit him. No one could see him.

Mizuumi awoke after time immeasurable to her and nearly screamed at the sight before her eyes. Flaming tongues licked at the space in front of her face. Another second of observation subsided her fears. She was merely before a campfire.

"Enjoy your nap, Mizuumi?" Relena asked scathingly

"What happened?" Mizuumi asked groggily

"You passed out," Kaiba responded flatly, eyes on the fire.

"Sorry…"

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Relena seethed

"Enough!" Yuki's voice echoed from the other side of the campfire," Relena, you are acting like a child. Need I remind you of _your_ first jonin mission?"

"No, my lady,"

"Good, what's done is done. Mizuumi, you take first watch, everyone else go back to sleep." Mizuumi centered herself a good six feet from the fire. She didn't understand what Relena had against her; it wasn't like she'd intended to fall on her face! The forest was strangely peaceful that night, Mizuumi observed. The sky was a clear inky black, and a crescent moon illuminated the air. It was beautiful, Mizuumi thought, but it didn't last long.

The wind began whispering through the trees behind her.

"_Mizuumi_," it seemed to say. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck.

"_Mizuumi,"_ it repeated," _help me."_

"W-w-who are you?" she stammered

_"Someone who needs your help"_

"Show yourself!" she demanded

"_I…can't."_ it sighed. Mizuumi's heart was racing. Fearfully, she groped around in her pocket for her weapon, until she finally felt its smooth metal surface in her grasp. In a flash, Mizuumi had her weapon, a retractable six foot staff, elongated to half its normal length. She twirled it around in her fingers, a sense of calm beginning to sweep over her.

"Show yourself!" she repeated, slightly calmer. No response was forthcoming. Mizuumi continued to twirl the staff as her eyes darted about the tree line. The forest was painfully silent. Suddenly, the wind gusted as if there was a gale. The air was supercharged with energy, swirling faster and faster; Mizuumi's heart pounded; lightning split the air. A hand clamped down over her mouth, silencing the scream rising in her throat.

"Don't move," Kaiba ordered. Mizuumi silently obeyed, and soon realized why. A wolf slipped majestically away from the tree line, its silvery white coat glistening in the moonlight. It stared into Mizuumi's petrified eyes with its own unwavering luminescent green gaze. The wolf's eyes traveled to the rod in Mizuumi's hands, its gaze becoming suddenly interested.

"Mizuumi," Kaiba's calm voice surprised her, "when I say now, drop your staff and run, got it?"

"No way!" Mizuumi whispered back harshly," This staff was my father's! Besides, it's my only weapon and-"

"Do you feel like joining him?" He fired back.

"Maybe I do!" The wolf crept forward stealthily.

"Mizuumi," Kaiba warned

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Mizuumi," the wolf inched ever closer. Kaiba reached for Mizuumi's arm.

"Back off!" Mizuumi, to Kaiba's dismay, fully extended her staff and launched herself at the wolf.

Kisame paced the clearing. Itachi had been gone awhile now, he observed, nearly an hour actually. The two had been partners for years, and although Itachi was strange, he had never acted this strangely before. Kisame sincerely hoped he hadn't offended the younger man; he always took the first watch.

"Where is he?" Kisame wondered aloud. Itachi wasn't one to wander off, nor was he one to readily engage in needless violence. The bushes behind him began to rustle. Kisame sore t himself, reached for his sword, and prepared for a fight. The creature emerged, and Kisame nearly laughed in relief.

"Where've you been Itachi?"

Blood gushed thickly down her arms. A deep gash in her throat prevented her from lamenting her anguish, but it was over, Mizuumi had killed the wolf.

He watched from the shadows, unaware of his growing predicament. The girl had killed the wolf, highly unnecessary in his opinion, as all it wanted was to see the staff.

"Mizuumi," the man with her was exasperated;" do you ever consider your actions?" She ignored him, instead forming several hand seals. He observed the girl was a medic, and a brash one at that.

Mizuumi's mother had forbidden her from joining the medical corps, but that didn't mean she wouldn't learn a thing or two anyway. The wounds healed easily, and by the time Yuki and Relena joined them Mizuumi looked normal again.

"What happened?" Yuki demanded.

"She was proving herself brash," Kaiba grumbled. Mizuumi didn't respond, for she was staring into two eyes the color of spilt blood.


	4. Illusions

Mizuumi was paralyzed. The eyes each seemed to hold three black commas with the largest part of each facing inward to where the pupil would be in a normal human eye. There was no shape in the darkness but the two glowing demon like eyes that trapped Mizuumi within their gaze. All rational thought had left her mind, even the knowledge that something had to hold those menacing crimson eyes.

"Continue moving, because otherwise the Hokage may," Mizuumi's broken mind could only capture and make sense of fragments of sentences, but the bits and pieces she gathered fit together like the pieces of two different puzzles. The patterns refused to fit together in a logical and coherent way. Someone thumped her on the back of the head, jarring her out of her trance.

"Did you hear a word she said?"

"Yes, Kaiba, I did." Which wasn't a total lie; she had heard some of what had been said.

"Well then, Mizuumi," Kaiba tossed her her bag, which had never been unpacked; "you know we're going double time to stay on schedule?" Mizuumi's heart sank. Double time? She could hardly handle half time!

"Yes, Kaiba." Mizuumi took one last look into the bushes, but the eyes had vanished without a sound. The only evidence of their existence was their imprint in her mind.

"You ready, Itachi?"

"Let's go."

"I've been waiting all night for you to say that."

_ Suddenly, he felt cut off from himself, like a fluidic substance had been placed over his_

_conscience. He felt a distant ghost of movement, like running weightless through the woods, and then it hit him. He had been tricked._

Yuki led her squad through the crisp night air, their footfalls as soft as fresh fallen snow on an ice coated lake. Frosty whips of smoke floated from the mouths of the shinobi as they made their way through the chilly night air. That Mizuumi had always been trouble in her opinion, even before she decided to get those atrocious marks under her eyes. When she'd been born, Mizuumi hadn't seemed to Yuki like she'd ever be the type to disobey her parents' wishes.

_Maybe,_ Yuki thought, _if I'd been a better mother back then, she never would've disobeyed me._

Kisame mentally kicked himself. He'd been waiting for Itachi to give the signal to attack and forgot that it was his turn to call the strike, so now they'd have to wait until they passed by the next village. It, was his turn…right? Kisame's eye twitched in annoyance when he realized the Waterfall ninja would not just be passing through, and they planned to stop for lunch, and nearly fainted when Itachi suggested stopping as well. Of course he gave in to Itachi's request. It wasn't every day Itachi asked to stop to eat. Itachi was the one to order first and surprisingly got actual food. If that wasn't enough, he finished first and ate the rest of Kisame's! Kisame was shocked out of his appetite when Itachi asked for still more food. There was something seriously wrong here.

Mizuumi pushed her ramen around in the bowl. Yuki kept staring at her from across the table. Kaiba was reviewing a map while eating a sandwich and ignoring Relena's tactless flirting.

"Relena, must you shame the kunoichi name with such behavior?" Yuki snapped. Relena instantly scooted away from Kaiba, who nodded appreciatively at Yuki. Mizuumi smiled, Yuki had her ways to cheer anyone up.

"Mizuumi quit playing with your food before I give it to one of the children I saw in the street on the way here!"

"Sorry, Yuki!"

_ They finally stopped. Whoever was masquerading as him was a fool if they thought Kisame couldn't see through his disguise. Or did Kisame just not want to see the truth?_

Kaiba scanned the room with his one good eye. Looking out the window opposite him, he could see into the neighboring shop. The two lone customers wore straw hats with a bell tied to each and white strips concealing their faces and with them their identities.

Relena sensed the tension become palpable around here. She and Kaiba had been partners for countless years, and that energy he was emitting was never good.

"Spot something?" She asked casually, like she would if she were asking the time of day.

"Akatsuki."

"Yuki~Sama!" Relena locked eyes with her leader. Yuki stared calmly back.

"I know." Kaiba tugged Mizuumi out of her seat.

"Hurry."

Kisame noted the Waterfall ninjas' exit with tired interest. He moved to follow, but was stopped by Itachi's hand on his shoulder.

"I think we'll be able to catch up. Besides, a little rest for us means more work for them, yes?"

"Fair enough," Kisame settled back down and watched his partner from around his cup. Itachi's appetite appeared insatiable to the older man, and he greatly wished he possessed the Byakugan or some other way to see his chakra. From what he could tell, this was the real Itachi, but that left another question. Why was the Uchiha acting so strangely?

Mizuumi's hair snagged every thorn in the forest, and the trees lifted their roots to ensnare her feet at every step. Warm summer sunlight danced through the leafy treetops. Birds lilted listlessly in the branches above their heads. The Waterfall shinobi drowsily trekked through the thick woods.

"Lady Yuki, may we please stop for a moment?" Relena panted. Yuki growled internally. The universe was against her, wasn't it?

"Five minutes, that's it."

"Lady Yuki, do we really have time for us to stop? The Akatsuki may be close," Mizuumi seated herself on the ground beside Yuki.

"I do not sense their presence, and for all we know they had business in that last village."

"But shouldn't we-"

"Mizuumi," Yuki soother, "there is no need for you to panic. Go take your five minutes."

"Yes ma'am."

Kisame heard voices up ahead.

"Mizuumi," the voice was soothing like ripples through a pond on a warm summer day, the voice of a mother, "there is no need for you to panic."

"Is that them?" Kisame asked Itachi.

"Yeah."

Mizuumi jogged farther away from her squad until the voices of Relena and Kaiba were lost to the sounds of a babbling brook. The wheat field they had stopped in was a deep brown that reminded her of fresh baked cookies on a sunny spring day. Memories of her mother's laughter when she dropped the pan rang in her ears, and she felt increasingly homesick. White fluffy feathers drifted down around her, and her eyelids felt heavy with sleep. But Mizuumi didn't want to rest, for when she closed her eyes she was haunted by visions of her brother dying by a shadowy figure's hand. Nonetheless, Mizuumi wasn't strong enough to fight the sleep.

_They use my chakra so well for someone not of my bloodline. It's almost as if…_

Kisame raised an eyebrow skeptically at his partner.

"You've never been one to ease the pain of a victim, Itachi~san, have you had a change of heart?"

"I'm sparing her to send her village a message."

"Oh? And what message would that be?" Kisame had never seen the light that shone in his teammate's eyes, and hoped never to see it again.

Kaiba sat meditating in the center of the clearing. Mizuumi's chakra suddenly felt as if it had been submerged. No, it couldn't be! A genjutsu with no caster? That meant only one thing.

"Yuki! Relena!" Kaiba jumped to his feet. He didn't have time to process the pain before his life drew to a close.

Relena hurdled herself into the path of a fireball intended for Yuki. She let herself melt into a puddle on the ground and pulled herself a safe distance across the grass before reforming. Her attacker was a boy; barely a man, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and eyes the color of fresh spilt blood. They stared at each other, and soon the boy's eyes changed to black, the same color as the cloak he wore. A smile crossed his face, and he pointed behind her. The last thing she saw was Kaiba's lifeless body as she fell to the ground, her body split in two.

Yuki was speechless. These monsters had killed two jonin with ease, and she had no trouble imagining what they must've done to her Mizuumi. Tears brimmed up in her eyes.

"You monsters! What have you done with my daughter?"

"You're the leader from last time," Kisame stated, brushing her question off like dust from a book.

"Answer me!"

"Mother's getting angry. Don't worry; we've spared your little girl, for now. We'll even give her the luxury of kissing her mother goodbye."

Mizuumi awoke with a pounding headache. She jumped when she saw it was close to twilight, and it occurred to her that her squad must've left her. She ran at a full sprint into the clearing. Mizuumi stumbled in fright, a scream wrenching itself from her throat. Her squad lay lifeless on the ground. Wait, was that? It was. Yuki groaned again and tried to sit up.

"Lady Yuki, what happened?"

"I'm sorry, Mizuumi, I'm so sorry..."

"What?"

"I was selfish to leave you and your brother. I hope you can…"

"M-mom?"

"Goodbye. Tell your brother…I love him too…"

"Mom…" Mizuumi felt numb.

"It's too late, little one, she's gone." Mizuumi whipped around. A shadowy figure leaned casually against a tree, its long black cloak with red clouds just as she'd seen in her dreams.

"You! You did this!"

"Yes."

"Why're you just standing there, aren't you here to finish the job?"

"No, I'm here to thank you, Mizuumi," the figure walked towards her as if in slow motion," You see, Mizuumi, had I never met you, I'd never have been set free."

"What do you mean?" She stared stunned into the glowing golden eyes.

"You saved me, and now I've returned the favor by ridding you of your wretched mother." Mizuumi flew to her feet and stuck out with all her might. The sound of flesh colliding with flesh resounded off the trees.

"How dare you! How dare you be so heartless?" The figure held his cheek thoughtfully.

"So…this is what pain feels like." Can't you see what you've done?"

"I've never had a mother, or any family for that matter. So no, I can't connect with your pain."

"But surely you can guess the agony? Aren't you even faintly hurt about not having a family anymore?" This seemed to get the figure to think, for he was silent for several moments.

"Agony? No, anguish. Yes, that's it. I'll take this world through its own anguish," the figure pulled Mizuumi into a cold embrace. Brushing her hair away from one ear he whispered, "Thank you, Mizuumi. You've given me a new reason to carry on." By the time she realized what had happened, she was already unconscious. When she awoke, Mizuumi found a piece of paper in her hand. On it were scribbled the words of the figure with the initials "KU" near the bottom in crude handwriting.

_Mission complete, but not by me. What will happen not that nothing's as it seems?_


	5. Shadows

Kisame stared into the tree line as he waited for his strange partner to return. When he finally emerged, Itachi's eyes seemed to sparkle a dusty undertone.

"You seem…happy."

"But I am, Kisame," Itachi seized his arm," Let's get a drink to celebrate the occasion!" As he allowed himself to be led to town, Kisame mulled over how he'd explain Itachi's behavior to Pein. He doubted saying he'd been hit on the head would be sufficient, as Pein was no fool. Drugs weren't a likely route either. Sick? Yeah, that could work! If he threw in that Itachi had been hit with a genjutsu too this could work.

_He watched as the trekked towards the tavern and wished he had the ability to throw something. Some fool was going to ruin him!_

"_Kisame," he thought, gritting his teeth, "you better see through this deception soon."_

Mizuumi dried her eyes and began the lonely journey to the Leaf Village once again. Sixty miles were left of her mission and then she could return home a hero.

_"Are you lost?"_ Mizuumi's heart leapt. A voice sharing striking similarity to the one of her squad's killer resounded around her like the sound of water dripping in cavern.

"No," she held her voice level despite the pounding in her chest.

_"No? Very well, find the way to the Leaf Village yourself."_

"…Ok, I'm lost." The voice's energy changed. It almost felt as if it was trying not to laugh.

"A laugh?" Mizuumi thought, "Does that mean that the voice is…human?"

_"It's this way, follow me."_

_ He could scarcely suppress an exasperated chuckle. Mizuumi intended to complete her mission, which he thought was noble, but had no idea as to how she should get there._

_ "It's this way, follow me."_

"Where are you?"

_"Look behind you," he sighed. Mizuumi wheeled around and jumped back when she saw him. Her surprise turned to rage a she took in his features. Suddenly he felt this was going to be a long trip._

The boy she locked eyes with was the perfect image of "KU", and his eyes were the same ones she'd seen peering at her from out of the bushes. His hair was raven black with a few strips of grey and was tired back in a long low ponytail. He wore the same black cloak with red clouds as the person she'd seen before when she thought about it, the three of them were the same age. It sickened her that someone so young could kill so ruthlessly.

"You!" The realization hit her like a tidal wave, "You're the one who killed my squad!"

_"It wasn't me,"_ the voice stated simply.

"You sure look the same to me," Mizuumi seethed.

_"If I were him, don't you think you would have shared their fate by now?"_

"True enough," Mizuumi conceded, "So who are you then?"

Kisame wished he could wake up from this nightmare if in fact it was one. Seeing Itachi guzzle down alcohol like he'd done so his whole life when before the night before he'd never seen Itachi eat wasn't helping things.

"Please tell me this is just a dream," Kisame begged mentally, "Right now I'd be thankful to be under genjutsu." Kisame was losing his mind.

Kisame was staring at him strangely. Did he suspect the truth so soon? He'd hoped that using the girl as an excuse would hold out longer, but at this rate that option seemed to be fizzling like a bomb ready to go up in flames at any second. He had known from the beginning it would end quickly, but now was when he began to realize the major flaw in his flawless plan.

He didn't want to disappear again.

_ He'd hoped this wouldn't come up, for he hadn't had time to come up with a disguise yet. If his appearance wasn't a dead giveaway, then his name would be._

_ "You need not concern yourself with who I am but with the identity of your squad's killer, and the only way to find that out is to find him."_

"I don't know how to track him!"

_"But I do."_

"How?" Mizuumi challenged.

_"He…has something important to me."_

"So you want revenge," _he noticed it was more a statement than a question_, "What's in it for me?"

_"Don't you too crave vengeance?"_

_ "_Yes."

_"He's headed towards your village in the morning. We should get moving so we can beat them there."_

"How do you know?"

_"Enough questions, let's go."_

Kisame stared at Itachi until he noticed him it took longer, and he naturally blamed the alcohol.

"Need something?" Itachi asked smiling. The smile sent a shiver down Kisame's spine. Itachi never smiled.

"Time to go, Kaito."

His heart, or more properly, Itachi's heart, skipped a beat. He knew, but how could he know his name? Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"It's your name, remember?" Kisame gave him a look. Kaito mentally kicked himself for forgetting that Itachi used his name as a disguise. Paranoia wasn't something he needed to succumb to if he was to accomplish his goals.

"Of course. I was just thinking. How about we stop by the Waterfall Village?"

"Why Itachi, I never took you as one to exceed orders like this. Where is this personality coming from?"

"I've had a change of perception so to say. If we crush the village, their spirits are sure to follow."

"Heh, you just don't want to go on another one of these missions."

"True enough," It was true; Kaito didn't want to waste precious little time of such repetitive tasks.

Itachi led Mizuumi through the crowded streets. She was slower than anyone he'd ever worked with, and he felt sorry for the Leaf Village for having her village as their ally.

"I'm hungry," Mizuumi complained, "can we stop to eat?"

"Be quick. We need to reach the village before they do." Mizuumi ducked into the restaurant where she'd had her last meal.

"True enough," a voice of strong similarity to his laughed from the restaurant next door. Itachi turned his head so he could gaze into the next building, a tavern. Inside, sitting next to the window, were Kisame and his imposter.

"What do you see?" Mizuumi whispered, having come back outside.

"My target."

Kaito felt Itachi's gaze burning into him like a hot iron. He turned his golden eyes calmly towards him. Had he been around longer, he'd have known what he was experiencing when he locked eyes with Itachi was fear.

"Kaito, let's go," Kisame urged as he rose to his feet. Kaito turned to follow.

_"Kaito!"_ He whipped his head back around. Itachi held his gaze with such hate that it was unnerving, "_Is that your true name. Kaito?"_ Kaito gave Itachi his signature smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

The alcohol must be getting to Itachi, for he was talking to a window.

"Kaito, let's go," Kisame repeated. Itachi didn't argue, he just followed him out.

"Who were you talking to?" Kisame demanded once they were outside the town. Itachi smiled, his eyes another richer shade of gold.

"Didn't you see her? It was the waitress from the last restaurant.

"No seriously."

Mizuumi was waiting outside for her partner, ramen in a Styrofoam cup. As she sipped the noodles out of an opening in the lid, someone bumped into her. He wore a black cloak and a tan straw hat.

"My apologies madam, its dark and I couldn't see you there." The man tipped his hat and went on his way. When he finally came back from his exploit, Mizuumi's partner appeared troubled.

"Didn't go as planned?"  
>"No."<p>

"You know, I still don't know your name."

Itachi suppressed a sigh. There was no way he'd get her mind away from his identity, and judging by how stubborn she was he figured Mizuumi just might figure it out.

"If you know my name, you wouldn't like it," Itachi hoped she was a dumb as her decisions and that a subtle hint would get her to leave him alone.

"I could tell that much."

"Enlighten me," he was curious to see how absurd Mizuumi's theory could be.

"The people who attacked us were Akatsuki, and you're wearing the same cloak which means you're an Akatsuki as well," Mizuumi appeared to be thinking hard as she continued," Your headband denotes you as a Leaf shinobi, and from my knowledge only one Akatsuki has come from the Leaf."

"So who am I?" Itachi's heart raced. Finally, she had had an intelligent thought!

"No clue, your page is missing out of my Bingo Book."

Itachi had to once again suppress the urge to laugh, only this time out of hysteria. That close and the fool still had no clue! Children these days were becoming more oblivious than the last. At the back of his mind, Itachi wondered if Sasuke was still clueless. Maybe when this was all over he'd pay him a visit.

They set up camp in one of the first clearings they saw. Mizuumi realized with a stab of anguish that it was one of the clearings Kaiba had suggested. Maybe if Yuki had listened the attack wouldn't have happened.

"We followed you all the way here for this purpose. You couldn't have avoided it."

"How did you-?"

"You're thinking too loud."

"At least I think!"

"Clearly not enough."

Kisame took the first watch so he could observe this person who he'd decided couldn't possibly be Itachi. The first sign had been the personality change, and the second was his eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and to him Itachi's had always been hazy and unreadable due to everything he'd seen. He'd never allowed any light to reach the depths. This person's were gold and seemed to hold an untainted light somewhere within. It was so easy to read the person who they belonged to that it was hard to believe he had no idea who they were.

The third giveaway was his hair. Itachi's was raven black besides a few streaks of grey, but this person's was a solid cobalt blue even in intense sunlight.

Their chakra was the same, their voices were the same, but they couldn't be the same. The night was so crisp and clear it too almost couldn't be real.

Mizuumi decided she'd take the first watch so she could try to figure out her partner's identity. She knew he'd have some sort of identification on him, but it was clear that it would be well hidden.

She ran through a mental checklist of tactics that were physically possible. He was taller than her, and he was undoubtedly faster too. Being an Akatsuki meant he had much better chakra control than her and he wasn't afraid to use it. He was too strong to fight, but maybe she could trap him if forced into an altercation.

Itachi hoisted himself onto a high up branch in one of the trees that surrounded the clearing. Mizuumi had taken first watch because she obviously planed to find out his identity tonight, and he was taking every precaution to combat that chance. Itachi smiled to himself, wondering what she would think of him after she found his I.D. that he'd accidentally dropped while climbing the tree.

Mizuumi twirled a kunai absentmindedly around on her finger. She waited five minutes, then ten, then fifteen, and after thirty minutes she decided her target was asleep. She crept forward in by painstaking inch until she was standing beneath the tree where he was sleeping. She took one more step and heard a crunch. Her whole body went rigid. Heart thundering, she refused to breathe while she listened to the forest around her. Nothing stirred the air but a faint breeze. Breathing normally, she looked down. Under her foot was a shiny plastic car with a picture of her partner on it. Next to his image was one word.

"Dante?" She rolled the word around in her mind for a moment. It was an unusual name and certainly not the first one that came to mind. When she looked at him, he seemed more like an Itachi to her.

Kaito had no dreams that night because sleep never came to him. He could feel two eyes burrowing into him as if gazing into his soul. This feeling, like all the others, was new to him, and he didn't know how to resolve it. Itachi's comrade was becoming dangerous.

Kisame once again allowed Itachi to take the lead through the forest that morning. According to him, they'd reach the Waterfall Village by dusk, and because Kisame had never been there, he didn't question Itachi's knowledge.

True to his word, Itachi led them to a clearing within sight of the village before night set in.

"We should split up for this," Itachi began sketching a map into the dirt with a stick, "I'll take the west side, you'll take the east, and the village gate will be the divider."

"How about we stick to routine and have me take the west?" Kisame challenged.

"No, I must take the west."

"Why do you want the west so much?"

"There's something on that side that I need."

"Very well, take your west."Kaito shuddered. Kisame didn't like breaking routine like this. He'd challenged him and knew he was different than Itachi. He'd have to deal with him soon or he'd be destroyed. Kaito pulled a notebook out of Itachi's pocket and began writing in it. It was Itachi's journal, but he doubted that he'd mind.

Itachi woke up to Mizuumi prodding him in the side with a giant stick.

"Time to get up, _Dante,"_ she had such a self assured smirk on her face that Itachi wanted desperately to inform her that that wasn't in fact his name, but that he'd glued his picture onto the I.D. last night. Instead, he played along and pretended to search frantically for his I.D. holder in his cloak. He sighed dramatically.

"Hand it over, Mizuumi."

"Hmm….no, I don't think I will."

"And why is that?"

"I don't feel like it." Itachi easily lifted her up and slammed her into a tree with one hand. With the free one, he placed a kunai against her throat.

"Feel like it now?"

…..

After retrieving his I.D., Itachi and Mizuumi hurried towards the Waterfall Village. They arrived late in the afternoon and camped out in a clearing near the village gate.

"Why don't we just go inside?" Mizuumi asked.

"We'll get caught in the attack too if we don't wait out here."

"But my brother's in there!"

"Then we'll just have to make sure we succeed."

Meanwhile, Kisame was getting cold feet.

"Pein may not like us taking a side trip." Itachi turned to him, his eyes an intense gold.

"Then we'll just have to make sure we succeed," Itachi smirked.

That night, the raid began.


	6. Ashes

Kaito ran through all his options like they were pages in a book laid open before him. Itachi had such a wide array of jutsu at his disposal, yet he hardly so much as scratched the surface of his talent. The thought of all the suffering he could induce sent a savage rush racing through his blood. With all the raw poser coursing through his veins, Kaito wondered why Itachi never tapped his true potential. Then he remembered who Itachi was and why he did what he did every day of his life. Kaito knew after tonight nothing could be allowed to stand in his way.

Kisame watched Itachi prepare for the raid with a keen eye. He fumbled around when packing his shoulder bag and for some reason he left extra space inside. He remembered Itachi saying he needed something, but from the amount of space in the bag it looked like he was going to steal many somethings.

Mizuumi stared into the darkness. She listened to Dante's movements and judged that he was distracted. Slowly, she crept into the shadows. Every inch ran the risk of being discovered, but she couldn't stop. Mizuumi had to save her brother.

Itachi listened to Mizuumi as she snuck off towards the village. He found it sad that she thought he couldn't hear her.

Kaito crouched down in front of the lake that concealed the Waterfall Village's secret entrance. About then he realized why they were called hidden villages. The entrance was deep below the water's surface. Adrenaline flooded white hot through his blood. Kisame gave a signal and they dove in together. The water was cold and crystal clear, and Kaito could see the exit ahead of him. The water was illuminated dimly by minute blue crystals the riddled the walls and floor of the cavern. Kaito saw Kisame swimming through the rocks like a fish and made to follow him when he realized his mistake. He didn't know how to swim.

Kaito kicked at the water frantically. Heart pounding, he spun in circle after hopeless circle as he watched precious oxygen float away to the surface. Spots started to from in front of his eyes and he slowly sank to the bottom of the pond.

Mizuumi heard two splashes and knew she was too late. With a heavy heart, she dove into the pool that would take her home. The boy who'd killed her squad was flailing about below her like a fish out of water. With a jolt she realized his partner had left him for dead. She was holding his life in her hands. Revenge was so close, yet could she really bring herself to let someone of her own age die, even someone as sick as him? The boys misting eyes locked wit hers. Gold met green and instantly Mizuumi knew she couldn't leave him.

Itachi stretched and headed towards the village. He'd given Mizuumi more than enough time to sneak into the village. As he approached the pool, a strange sensation tugged his feet faster forward. Mizuumi's head broke the surface and was followed by another.

His hair was tinted cobalt blue and almost longer than Itachi's. He was light skinned but not pale and had the appearance of a sixteen year old.

"Who's this?" Itachi knew the answer even as the question left his lips.

"Your target."

Kaito's pulse was weak but present, and Itachi felt stronger being this close to his body. His eyes were closed. Mizuumi watched him like a mother with her child, and Itachi felt a stab of annoyance. Had she forgotten what had happened already?

"Stand aside girl, "a voice boomed from behind them. Itachi turned. Kisame stood on the water's surface mere feet from them. They were within full view of each other, but Kisame had only addressed Mizuumi, why?

"Kisame!" Itachi shouted, "Don't destroy him yet!" Mizuumi's head snapped towards him.

"Yet?" You can't just kill him!" Kisame raised an eyebrow.

"Who're you talkin' to? Who's over there?"

"Kisame, this isn't the time for games."

"You know each other?" Mizuumi growled.

"Who are you talking to?" Kisame demanded. Mizuumi looked back and forth between the two spastically.

"Wait…can't you see him?"

"See who?" Kisame looked around uncertainly. Mizuumi grabbed Itachi's arm in a vice-grip.

"Dante! Hi's right here!" Mizuumi waved his arm wildly. Kisame continued to stare at the phenomena. Mizuumi's knuckles were turning white from gripping his arm, but to Kisame it would look like she was gripping empty air.

Itachi's little girlfriend was crazy. She was waving her arm madly and claiming to be talking to someone named Dante. There was something he couldn't write off as insanity though. Her knuckles were turning white, and she wasn't making a fist. She was grabbing something, what he didn't know. Wait, did she say Dante? That's Itachi's other cover!

"I don't know how you know him, but he's not there," Kisame felt the tension thicken.

"Show him the I.D.?" Mizuumi blinked, "What'll that prove?"

Kaito erupted into a violent coughing fit. His eyes flickered open slowly.

"I'm…alive?" He asked himself. His body felt like lead. His vision was foggy, and when it finally cleared he saw two very familiar faces looking down on him. Mizuumi's gaze was soft, yet he didn't doubt she was still furious. Itachi himself was glaring daggers at him, and Kaito felt a slight sting of guilt. What was he thinking? He knew what he'd been thinking; he'd been thinking he could save them both. He still had a chance, they hadn't caught him yet.

"Who are you?' Itachi was emotionless, yet Kaito could feel the anger projecting off of him.

"Itachi Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf."

"Liar."

"Prove it."

"You act nothing like Itachi; you don't even look like him. Also, Itachi Uchiha never gave his real name," Kaito's heart sank.

_"Itachi," he thought, "why are you acting so cruel? You were never this way to him."_

"You know nothing!" Itachi snapped. Kaito closed his eyes and willed the burning to begin.

Itachi watched the imposter close his eyes and instinctively leapt back. No sooner had he reached safety did the black tendrils of Amaterasu begin licking towards him. He saw Kisame dive into the water and almost wanted to laugh. Kisame had forgotten Amaterasu's range. Mizuumi was within the attack zone. She didn't have time to escape. The jutsu spontaneously released and both Mizuumi and the imposter were gone. Itachi sat down in the grass.

"What now?"

Their target had grabbed her from behind the moment the black flames erupted from nowhere. He placed a kunai to her throat.

"Swim," he hissed. He dragged them both down into the water. Mizuumi obeyed, hoping to buy some time for Dante to find her. Deep inside, she regretted saving this ungrateful, manipulative waste of skin that was forcing her to help destroy her village. She swam down the tunnel that would place them as far away from the houses as possible. She navigated the honeycomb of tunnels as easily as she had her whole life. They emerged in a small cave with a runnel leading to the surface. Kaito drug them both onto land. He kept her in a chokehold. He was close, so close she could feel his breathing on the back of her neck.

"I'll tell your brother how good of a helper you were," he whispered. She felt a stab of pain before she hit the ground.

Kaito felt a swell of pride. He'd done it, he'd escaped Itachi! The village was mere meters away, and his prize was so close it was painful. It was about time he claimed it.

The tunnel was dark and difficult to navigate. With all the twists and turns and dead ends, it was almost expected to see dead bodies littering the passageway. The floor was cracked and uneven underfoot, and the cave was so dark that the only way to tell the way was by touch. Somewhere along the way, the tunnel got bright enough to see faint outlines of the boulders scattered around him. The air smelled dryer up here, and Kaito finally had the feeling he was going the right way.

The moon was full that night. Kisame had waited for him at the gate.

"You ready?" Kisame asked.

"Always."

Mizuumi waited three minutes before she rose to her feet. Some genius Itachi turned out to be, he couldn't even properly disable her! She ran down the tunnel and took the shortcut to the west side library. She'd gather the villagers there and hopefully make a stand. Mizuumi sprinted to her house. Arashi was nowhere inside; maybe he'd gone on a mission. Their kitchen light was on; Arashi never left the lights on when he wasn't there. Something was wrong.

Mizuumi smelled smoke outside. The sky was a crimson ball of fire, and the houses were its kindling. Her village became alight in flames, and as she watched it burn, Mizuumi knew she had failed.

Kaito crouched in the shadows while he waited for Mizuumi to leave. She took off towards the houses, and Kaito smiled to himself. She was in for a surprise.

The library was covered in a fine layer of dust. Kaito walked to the center of the domed building and tilted his head back. There were six circular floors, counting his current one, which had a tunnel like opening through the upper five. A white column like railing surrounded the upper floors. A spiraling staircase spanned the circumference of the room. The towering bookcases were made of polished redwood. He ascended the marble stairwell to the second floor, the third, fourth, fifth, and finally to the sixth.

The entrance was blocked by an iron lock. Kaito scoffed.

"Do they truly believe this'll stop anyone?" he wrapped an explosive tag delicately around the lock. Calmly, he shed his Akatsuki cloak as he climbed onto the railing. He spread his arms wide, closed his eyes, and jumped.


	7. Feathers

Itachi stared at the flame choked village. They were flaunting his powers well, he thought sourly. People were running from houses and deftly throwing water from the lake on the fires. One young man yelled into the crowd.

"No! Use water-style!" the villagers turned tail from the lake and began weaving hand signs in blurs. They ran obliviously through him. He caught sight of Mizuumi briefly before she melded into the crowd. An image of the library slapped him behind his eyes before it crackled away into static nothingness. He whipped around in time to see the flash on an explosion in the highest window. Itachi set his course for the imposter.

Kaito's wings unfurled like a parachute, the explosion acting as a strong updraft. He hovered at the top of the dome for a moment to savor the feeling of freedom flight brought before gliding effortlessly onto the sixth floor landing. He ran his hand over the polished dustless shelves. The floor was dimly lit by the light of a lone lamp that sat on a wooden checkout desk. The floorboards creaked underfoot as he approached the desk. A woman sat behind the desk. Her hair was the color of unpolished marble, and her skin was a pearly white. She looked as if she'd never seen the sun. Kaito stopped in front of hr.

"I knew you'd come, Kaito. I've been waiting." Her voice was the embodiment of times itself, old and young yet not bound as a servant of age. There were four books on her desk.

"Who are you?" Kaito asked nervously.

"I'm the guardian of these texts. Before you are four of the volumes you seek. After you have learned them you will need to find the rest yourself." Her milky white eyes seemed to gaze through his heart and into his soul.

"Thank you," Kaito placed the books delicately into his bag one by one. The woman's hand grabbed his.

"These are forbidden texts, Kaito, do not forget their power." He eyes were intense.

"I'll remember your warning, I promise." She smiled.

"Farewell, Kaito of the Hidden Leaf."

The guardian faded to ash before his eyes. Shaken, he advanced to the door and opened his wings. Itachi would be there soon.

Itachi fazed through the locked door. The library was dark, too dark for his liking. The domed roof was stained glass, and silhouetted against the pale blue moon was a winged figure.

Mizuumi weaved through the mass of familiar faces. One comrade, the one who'd been yelling orders, grabbed her.

"Mizuumi, help put out the fires."

"But Shibuki, Arashi-"

"He'll be fine, but if we let this fire continue, our village won't."

"Yes sir," she sighed. Toshiro bounced over to her.

"How was the mission?" he extinguished the grass fires as he spoke.

"It was a failure."

"Figures,' the two worked on in silence. Eventually, all the fires were put out.

The burnt buildings stood like skeletons, the smoke could've been their undead breath. The library and the Village Conference Center were the only structures that remained unscathed. They were sentinels over the charred graveyard. The villages congregated within the meeting are of the Conference Center. Even then, Arashi was nowhere to be found.

Itachi watched as the figure expanded its blue feathery wings. It flapped them three times before shooting into the air and drifting lazily to the ground.

"Now we meet," he smiled. Itachi's imposter seemed at peace. Like he knew all the answers.

"Tell me your name."

"My name?" He mused," My name has never really been asked of me."

"Oh? Did your mother hold your hand and introduce you to everyone for you?" Itachi taunted. His imposter laughed.

"Very good, Itachi. You're wrong, of course, but very entertaining."

'Your name."

"Haven't you guessed?  
>"Kaito."<p>

Very good, Itachi. Yes, my name is Kaito." Kaito applauded him, cocky fool. Kaito looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

"Why waste words on the likes of you?" Kaito's expression deflated.

"So rude! What would little Sasuke think if he heard you talk like that? How is he, anyway?" Itachi remained reticent.

"Oh, that's right!" Kaito continued, wings moving dramatically with his words," You left him all alone back in the Leaf Village. That' wasn't a very good decision, leaving your little brother all alone thinking—"

"You know nothing!" Itachi's blood boiled with fury.

"How thoughtless. Sasuke must've been beside himself. First his family leaves him, and then Big Brother Itachi goes and joins a band of criminals. Not a very good brother, are we Itachi?"

"You. Know. Nothing." Itachi growled.

"Did I strike a sore spot?" Kaito smirked. He'd done it; Itachi had let his enemy get to him. His first lesson as an anbu blacktop and he still hadn't been able to prepare himself against some insolent body snatcher. He must've gone soft if some coward could evoke what even an Akatsuki couldn't. Kaito was correct, at least partially. He had left Sasuke, but he hadn't even come close as to why. Itachi was so distracted he didn't notice Kaito's approach. He felt Kaito's hand pass through him. Itachi glared, readying a retort. Kaito's expression stopped his insult dead.

Kaito was staring at his hand sadly. He seemed deep in thought.

"So that's it," he whispered.

"Your plan going up in smoke?" Itachi taunted.

"It's going better than your relationship with Sasuke!" Kaito fired back.

"You know nothing!"

Kaito exited the building, leaving a stunned Itachi far behind. He pulled his cloak back on over his retracted wings.

"Didn't see that coming did he?' Kaito smirked. He jogged over to Mizuumi's house and opened the doors to her cellar. Kaito walked easily down the stairs into the damp darkness. He didn't need a light; his prisoner was right where he'd left him.

"You ready for your big finish, Arashi?"

Mizuumi snuck out of the meeting. Her house wasn't far; all she'd have to do was run. Two people were waiting for her outside her house.

"Arashi?" She called.

"Mizuumi?" Arashi whimpered.

"Arashi, stay there!" The other person spread a pair of silver feathery wings, pulling themselves and Arashi high into the air.

"Put him down, he's just a kid!" Mizuumi yelled. The winged person laughed.

"Children die every day, why should your brother be spared?"

"Because he doesn't deserve to die!"

"Not good enough!" The boy shot higher into the sky. Mizuumi felt her heart stop as she watched Arashi fall. She seemed to move in slow motion. She heard Arashi scream, saw his tears, and then it was over.

Kisame waited outside the village for Itachi. Something was wrong, his partner didn't seek destruction, yet the smoke billowing above him told a different story. He had no choice; he'd have to contact Pein. He wove the hand signs and a projection of him appeared in the Akatsuki base.

"Where's Itachi?" Pein asked automatically.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"Elaborate." Kisame told Pein everything, from the girl to the destruction of the village. Pein listened, occasionally asking for clarification on certain matters Kisame mentioned.

"He's changed, Leader~Sama. It's like he's a different person," Kisame concluded.

"Perhaps Itachi has finally seen the light. As of right now he doesn't pose a threat to us."

"And if that changes?"

"You know what to do."

Kaito smirked and rose back into the air with Arashi hanging limply in his arms. Mizuumi was too stunned to speak. He n=mentally checked off number 67 o his listed.

"Before you ask, my name is Kaito. I saved your brother because he has something I need."

"What's that?"

"Your help."

"I'll never help you!"

"Never? I wouldn't be so sure."

"And why is that?'

"Take a look," Kaito ripped open Arashi's shirt with one easy tug. He heard Mizuumi gasp. Perfect, he thought, number 16 really does work. Arashi's torso was covered in explosive tags. With one sign, he could destroy him and part of the village. Of course, then he'd have to find someone else for number 17. Decisions, decisions.

"Ok, I'll help you."

"Excellent, Mizuumi." Kaito lowered her brother safely to the ground. Kaito waved her over and led her to the Academy's swimming pool.

"What now?" She asked uncertainly.

"Swim."

'…What?"

"Swim. Just do it." She noticed his eyes had changed to red and black instead of gold.

"Ok…" Mizuumi dove into the pool with as much grace as she could muster at the moment. Kaito's eyes followed her every motion. After a moment of observation, he retracted his wings and dove in as well. Mizuumi stared in astonishment as Kaito swam. They resurfaced together.

You may go," Kaito climbed out of the pool.

"That's it?"

"That's all I needed" Kaito unfurled his wings and disappeared into the night.

"Mizuumi!" Arashi ran over to her.

"Arashi!" Mizuumi stared," Why on earth did you change your shirt?"

"What? I've been wearing this all day."

"What about the explosives?"

"Explosives? Oh, the fire! Mrs. Kari's furnace exploded." Arashi was eyeing her strangely. Mizuumi realized with disgust that she'd been tricked.

Kaito swam out of the village triumphantly. Number 28 was a success!

Itachi sat huddled up under a tree in the clearing he'd selected for camp. His conversation with Kaito kept replaying over and over again in his head, fast forwarding to the last bit.

"You know nothing!" He yelled.

"Don't I?"

"What do you mean, coward?" Kaito's smirk became more vicious in ever flashback.

"Wouldn't you like to know, brother?" Kaito disappeared in a cloud of feathers.

"Brother?" Itachi asked, back in the present, "Kaito…is my brother?"

**Reviews? Like it? Hate it? Questions?**


	8. Time

**Author's Note: I honestly have no excuse for why this is being posted a good few weeks after I actually finished writing it….**

A week had passed since the raid, and Itachi had been studying like a man possessed. Ever since they'd returned, Kisame hadn't been able to so much as open Itachi's door, for it was barricaded from the inside. Kisame was worried. What if whatever he was doing in there would sabotage the Akatsuki? Kisame had to know.

"Hidan, how good are you with lock picks?" He asked one morning at breakfast.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I would actually. There's something I need for you to do for me." Hidan perked up considerably.

"Could you get me into Itachi's room?"

"I could be…persuaded. However, you must convince Kakuzu to lift his ban on my cursing!"

"I'll see what I can do. Does he have anything to do with your sudden vocabulary shift?"

"Yes."

Kisame and Hidan agreed to meet outside Itachi's room in ten minutes. During that time, Kisame went to "borrow" a sedative from Sasori.

_ Just in case,_ he reminded himself. When the time came, Kisame was surprised to see Hidan was there early. Hidan crouched down in front of the door and pressed his ear against the wood.

"He's playing music, but stay quiet," Hidan whispered. Carefully, Hidan slipped a pair of bobby pins into the lock. The tell-tale click of the lock came mere seconds later. Kisame gently turned the knob and peered inside.

Itachi was pacing in front of his desk, book in hand. He'd let his hair down, which Kisame felt was odd. It was also longer, well past his shoulders in fact. His luminescent golden eyes were glued to the text. Kisame smelled fresh coffee and heard it brewing somewhere within the room.

"That's not Itachi," Hidan muttered just a bit too loudly. Itachi whipped around.

"Kisame, Hidan," Itachi's voice had acquired a strange accent," come here." Cautiously, the two obeyed. The room was like ice, and both Kisame and Hidan could see the other's breath misting in the air. Oddly enough, they couldn't see Itachi's.

"Now, what do you two want?"

"Pein ordered us to check on you," Kisame lied.

"You could've knocked," Itachi reasoned, "If you had come for the reason you stated, there would be no need for you both to break in."  
>"We did," Kisame challenged, "you never answered."<p>

"Oh?" Itachi's eyes glittered dangerously,"Perhaps you should learn to knock louder."

Itachi had been sleeping in the same clearing for a week, alone and defeated. Kaito could've done anything by now, and his body could very well be lost. He didn't bother looking up when the brambles rustle as someone came into the clearing, for he knew contacting them was hopeless.

"Why did you lie?" Mizuumi asked calmly.

"I didn't. I merely kept certain details hidden."

"Why?"

"Because," Itachi held her gaze. He was sick of it, sick of Kaito, sick of the mind games, sick of her, " to me, you're nothing but a mindless tool who's rusted to the point of worthlessness."

"That may be true," Mizuumi approached him stolidly," but even a worn down tool won't let its user wallow in self pity. Come on Itachi, let's go catch Kaito."

"How do you plan to do that?" Mizuumi shrugged.

"You're the smart one, you'll figure it out."

"Even if we did find him, you'd have to fight for the both of us. Think you could do it?"

Mizuumi smiled and reached into her pocket. Her expression darkened to confusion, then panic.

"My dad's staff….It's gone."

Mizuumi dug furiously through her bedroom drawers as Itachi looked on. It was nowhere, her staff was gone. How was she supposed to fight without a weapon?

"Mizuumi, what's wrong?" Arashi rubbed his sleep heavy eyes, still dressed in his favorite shuriken print pajamas.

"It's nothing, Arashi," Mizuumi assured," just go back to bed."

"M'kay," he shuffled back up the stairs. Mizuumi smiled, her brother had a habit of brightening people's days. Mizuumi looked over at Itachi and her eyes narrowed. He was looking through one of her mother's photo albums, an expression of boredom clinging to his features.

"You don't have a long family history of Shinobi," he mused.

"My mother and father were the first."

"No wonder," Itachi walked through the door, "Come on, you're going to learn how to fight."

"From who?"

"Me. Hurry before I change my mind."

"How do _you_ plan to teach me anything?"

"Don't make me kill you."

Kaito had spent endless daily hours pacing his brother's room. The room would appear detached and impersonal to the untrained eye, but to Kaito, it was an open book. Itachi left nothing from his past in the open, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Under his bed was a hidden door, and through that hidden door was a hidden room. In that room were pictures, mainly of him and Sasuke. Graduation pictures, a birthday party, his first mission report. Delicately arranged on the shelves were old mementos Itachi had squirreled away over the years. Most everything was from back home, too much too carry in one small backpack.

The book he'd been searching for was on one of the two shelves in the room, and the only one covered in dust. The title was in a different language, but Kaito knew exactly what it said. Sometimes his fate was useful to him.

"Summoning the dead? No. Summoning giant toads? Not likely. Ah, here it is!" Kaito flipped to the chapter he'd been looking for and engrossed himself. He pulled a notebook out of Itachi's downstairs desk and scribbled down notes as he read. Itachi would get his body back; it was just a matter of how that plagued Kaito. Luckily, he had all the time in the world.

A month went by before anyone saw Kaito again. By then, he had gained so much knowledge that he felt his mind was going to overflow. All that remained was for him to gain the necessary power. With their combined strength, he could do it easily.

"NO!" Mizuumi let out a yelp as she hit the ground. Her sword bounced away across the grass and Itachi's katana tip grazed her forehead. A thin line of blood seeped from the shallow cut.

"You're letting to too easily. Try again."

"But I can't do it!" Mizuumi wailed. They'd been at it for at least a month and she still hadn't been able to last more than two minutes against Itachi.

"Yes, you can. Stand up and this time don't let go of your sword." Mizuumi staggered to her feet, leaning on her sword for support. She looked around the area they were training in. Itachi's attacks tended to scrape the ground, but there was something that didn't make sense to her.

"Hey, Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"How come you're solid to me, but your sword doesn't cut the grass?"

"It doesn't matter. If I can't get my body back then I can't fight Kaito."

"Well, what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Can you possess people?"

"I'm not a ghost, Mizuumi."

"But have you tried? I'm not strong enough to beat Kaito; I'm not even good enough to be a jonin! You know how to beat him, I don't."

"We can try, but first we have to build up your endurance."

"Or what?"

"Or my fighting style may kill you. Come on, once more."

Cool water lapped at Kaito's ankles as he let them dangle lazily into the slow flowing stream. He watched in pleasure as Itachi tried to teach Mizuumi how to wield a sword. Mizuumi tired quickly of the lesson and had simply seen fit to stay on the ground.

"It doesn't matter. If I can't get my body back, then I can't fight Kaito." Kaito smirked. Excellent, Itachi was determined to fight him. His plan would be easier than he thought. Let Itachi build Mizuumi's strength all he wanted, he'd only crush her anyway. Kaito cast a look towards them.

"Too easy."

"Kisame, what are you doing?" Kisame cringed. The sound of Pein's sandals slapping against the stone floor filled his ears. Slowly, Kisame rose to his feet.

"My office," Pein barked," Now!" Kisame followed. He'd seen Itachi leave the room and seized that was the time to see what his partner was hiding. He'd just about popped the lock when Pein found him. Pein slammed his office door shut behind them.

"Now, why were you breaking protocol?"

"It's not Itachi sir. I believe that-"

"Not this again," Pein interrupted, "Listen, I'm only saying this once. Itachi. Isn't. A traitor." Pein sighed," You and Hidan both are overreacting."

"I saw him drink alcohol," Kisame deadpanned," and he liked it."

"…You're lying."

"I wish I was."

Kaito slinked into the Akatsuki base.

"Where have you been?" Kisame leaned against a wall, arms folded.

"I got hungry," he shrugged.

"Bull."

"You're right," Kaito smirked," the restaurant I went to served fresh grilled bull." Casually, he walked towards the corridor to his room.

"Kaito." Kaito froze. Kisame peeled off the wall.

"That's your name, isn't it? You took Itachi's body."

"Well," Kaito sighed," I guess there's no use hiding it."

"Where was he last sighted?"

"In the entrance chamber, waiting for Itachi."

"When?"

"Last week."

Pein stormed down the hall Hidan at his side. He'd burst into Pein's office early that morning spouting gibberish about a kidnapping and a plot against Akatsuki. Kisame and Itachi were both missing.

"You're sure you didn't just miss them somewhere?"

"Pein, it's been one whole week!"

"Point taken," they stopped outside Kisame's room.

"Open it," Pein ordered.

"Too good to do it yourself?" A cold glare wiped the malice from Hidan's eyes. The door opened before Hidan so much as touched it.

"What do you want?" Kakuzu snapped.

"More importantly, why are you in there?" Pein demanded.

"Kisame owed me money, and seeing as I'd heard he'd disappeared, I decided to collect."

"Out. Now."

Kaito paced in front of his prisoner, who glared back defiantly.

"Who so stubborn? You're merely leading them to me." Kaito's hair was long and flowing, no longer contained by a ponytail. His eyes were deep golden pools. He was taller and paler than Itachi, but still similar in appearance.

"Never."

"Pity and you were so close to freedom." His red wings accented every word;" I suppose I'll just have to do it myself." Kaito flashed Itachi's sword.

**Thoughts? Anyone you want to see more of?**


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